Secrets
by Claire Randall Fraser
Summary: What if Derek doesn't know Penelope as well as he thinks he does? What is she hiding and why is he the last to know? Emily, JJ and Reid make an appearance in chapter 1.
1. Chapter 1

**Secrets**

"_The best way of keeping a secret is to pretend there isn't one."_

― Margaret Atwood, The Blind Assassin

"Garcia tells me everything."

Those four seemingly simple words were said as if he was stating the obvious. The sky is blue, water is wet and Penelope Garcia tells Derek Morgan everything.

His declaration - part boast, part conviction - caused both Emily and JJ to roll their eyes and shoot each other nearly identical looks that practically screamed, _Can you believe this guy?_

"What?" Derek asked.

"Nothing." Their answer was a little too synchronized and given a little too quickly for his liking. _Nothing_ clearly was code for something.

Intent on changing the subject, JJ busied herself with reading the menu. The trendy St. Louis diner's special of the day seemed like a safe topic.

"Anyone want to split the chicken fried steak with me?"

"Ooh, count me in. I love a good heart attack on a plate." Emily was quick to call dibs. On most days she ate healthy but there was something about putting an arsonist behind bars that made her crave fried food, especially if said food was smothered in gravy.

Morgan, never one to back down from a challenge tossed his menu to the side and settled deeper into the retro vinyl booth.

"Obviously you two don't agree so go ahead and enlighten me. Tell me what you _think_ I don't know…and don't bring up the Toll Gate Theater. That was an outlier."

For a while Penelope had kept it on the down low that she was a member of a Virginia theatrical group. The revelation came as a surprise to everyone on the team but especially to Morgan. More hurt than he was comfortable admitting he couldn't understand why she had kept him, of all people, in the dark.

"Actually an outlier is more commonly used to describe a statistical data point…"

"Reid!"

"Sorry." Reid mumbled. "Does this have anything to do with how Garcia's dating again?"

"Reid!" This time the censure came from the women.

Wary of the death stares he was getting from his female colleagues Reid reached for the silver carafe filled with cream. Topping off his third cup of coffee he threw caution to the wind and told what he knew.

"I overheard Pen talking to Gladys from Counterterrorism. She was going on about how some guy's kisses made her ears tingle which if you ask me is not biologically possible."

"Who's she dating?" Morgan asked.

"I think the better question is who isn't she dating. I didn't catch their names but according to Garcia she is and I quote _dating like it's her job and she's up for a promotion_."

"Their…as in plural?" Morgan was incredulous. How the hell did he miss this parade of men coming in and out of his Baby Girl's life?

"Reid, you have a big mouth." Emily yanked the carafe holding the Half & Half from his hands before pushing it to the far end of the table. "And enough with the dairy."

"But I love dairy."

"Well, dairy doesn't love you back and if you keep it up I'm making you ride back to the hotel on the roof of the car."

Derek refocused his attention on JJ. His menacing glare was the one he used when interrogating unsubs. He knew that he couldn't intimidate her so he didn't even try but he wanted her to know that he wasn't going to let up until he got some answers.

"Pen didn't want you to worry." JJ sighed. Penelope was going to kill her. "She knows how you get when it comes to her dating."

"How do I get?"

"You interrogate every guy who dares to get within 10 feet of her?" JJ answered without missing a beat.

"Let's not forget about how you conveniently slip into every conversation that you're a black belt and have a license to kill," added Emily.

"Face it Morgan, when it comes down to it, you essentially treat potential suitors like unsubs." Reid had to back up the ladies on this one.

"I do not!"

All three nodded in unison.

"Pretty much."

"Without fail."

"It's your M.O."

"OK, for the sake of argument let's say you're right…which is not what I'm saying. What's so wrong about looking out for a friend?"

"Nothing but why do you have to be a Nazi about it?" Emily threw back at him.

"I take it back. You are right. What's the worst that could happen? It's not like a psychopath with a God-complex could shoot our girl and leave her for dead…oh wait."

Morgan knew he was hitting below the belt but he didn't care. They may have been able to forget the image of his Baby Girl in the hospital fighting for her life but he never would.

"Seriously Morgan, not every guy is a Jason Battle." Emily shook her head in disbelief. "I swear it's a miracle that Kevin slipped by you."

It _was _a miracle that Lynch got by him, an oversight that Derek was loathe to repeat.

"Whatever just tell me who they are. You know I'm going to find out anyway."

"Well there was the new guy from Accounting, Joe Marina. Nice guy and obviously vetted by the FBI so you know he's safe." JJ reassured Morgan before he had a chance to protest. "After Joe was Jamal and then Brian."

"No, Brian came before Jamal." Emily corrected her friend.

"Right. Jamal is the post-doc from Georgetown. Joe, Brian, Jamal, and then Marcus from the theater..."

"Don't forget Christian. He looked like the hot guy from the Old Spice commercial."

"There's no forgetting him. He was scorching hot. I swear if I wasn't married I'd ask him out myself."

"Too bad she dumped him for Chester the Molester." As soon as the words left her mouth Emily wished that she could have taken them back.

"Molester?"

"Morgan, I was joking." Emily's eyes frantically scanned the half full diner looking for their server. "Where is that waitress?"

"Prentiss…"

"OK, OK. He's just some loser who turned into an octopus at the end of the night."

"I want a name."

"Honestly, he's a nobody." JJ jumped in. "Plus Penelope's fine. She threatened to ruin his credit history and send animal porn to his bosses through his computer. She scared him enough that he promptly took her home and she hasn't heard from his since. That's it. I swear."

Picking up his smart phone, Morgan pressed speaker before hitting speed dial. The voice that answered wasn't the one everyone but Derek expected to hear.

"LaMontange"

"Hey, it's Morgan. Who's the guy who got out of line with Garcia?"

"Don't do it." JJ warned her husband.

"Chuck Mutterpearl. He's a software developer for a consulting firm in Alexandria.

"Will, you promised."

"No, cher I promised I wouldn't volunteer the information. I never agreed not tell if asked."

_Damn it_, JJ hated that her husband got her on a technicality.

"Morgan, I took care of it. I paid Mr. Mutterpearl a visit and made it clear that when a lady says no she means no."

"You did what?" JJ couldn't believe that her sweet law abiding husband, a fellow officer, had turned vigilante. "Why am I only now finding out about this?"

"Honey, what you don't know you can't try to stop."

"Will, you can't just go around beating people up."

"I never laid a hand on him. I just showed up to his house with my sidearm in plain view and we had a friendly chat man to asshole."

"Will…"

"Cher, she's our son's godmother. She's family and nobody messes with family."

"I don't mean to interrupt this lovers' quarrel but I want the address." Morgan's voice was strangely calm which scared the crap out of his teammates.

"1342 Larchmont Blvd in Lake Ridge."

"Thanks, man."

Ending the call, Derek waved the waitress over to take their orders.

_TBC_

_Please review and let me know what you think._

Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2

**Secrets**

Chapter 2

_Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth._

_-Buddha_

"I, Derek Morgan, solemnly swear to not beat up, chase down, stalk and/or generally terrorize any of Penelope Garcia's dates, boyfriends or friends who happen to be men unless she explicitly gives me …Baby Girl, this is ridiculous."

Derek was in the dog house and if he was honest with himself that was exactly where he belonged. For the past 20 minutes he sat on the edge of his desk as he got his ass verbally handed to him by a mini tornado decked out in pink and orange.

Penelope was scary when angry - sexy as hell too – but he had enough sense to keep that part to himself. But he was a guy, after all, and what red-blooded heterosexual male could resist the sway of those hips and the bounce of breasts as she angrily stomped around his office.

Even on calmer days when he had no reason to fear her wrath, she had a way of moving that made her body jiggle and rock that could only be described as distinctly womanly and uniquely Penelope. Not for the first time, Derek wondered just how much fun it would be to take that body for a ride.

"Uh, uh, Mr. Man, what's ridiculous is you bringing in Chuck Mutterpearl for questioning in the Chesapeake home invasions. You're the one who created the profile. You're the one who said the creeper is in his late 20s; over 6 feet tall and extremely physically fit. Chuck is pushing 50; barely 5 feet, 8; has asthma and walks with a limp."

Penelope gave Derek a not so gentle smack on the arm. "Now put your hand back up."

Since there was no sense in prolonging the pain, Derek raised his right hand and finished the oath, "Unless she explicitly gives me permission in writing."

"Good."

"Are you ever going to forgive me?"

"I don't know; I'm still mad at you."

"I'll wait but you do know that I was only looking out for you."

"D, we've been through this. I'm a grown woman; I don't need protecting."

"Too bad. I love you and I don't know how to stop doing that so you're stuck with me." The shrug of his shoulders confirmed that he was anything but remorseful.

Penelope to her shame felt herself weakening. How could anyone be so annoyingly frustrating and yet so ridiculously adorable all at the same time?

"You're really making it hard for me to stay mad."

"Then my plan's working." His laugh made his beautiful brown eyes light up.

She tried to keep a poker-face, she really did, but then he had to go and do the _thing._ He freakin' winked at her. A Derek Morgan wink was like kryptonite to her Supergirl, shattering her defenses and turning her into molten girly-goo. Before she could stop herself she let out a giggle.

"Morgan, be serious. I want a social life but that's never going to happen with you scaring away every guy who even dares to look at me."

"I'm not that bad."

"Two words: Chuck Mutterpearl."

"Baby Girl, looking wasn't the problem. I'm pissed he touched you. Big difference."

"You accused him of being the Chesapeake Creeper!"

"What can say, it's my job to check out every lead. It just so happens that this one came to me by an anonymous caller with a distinct Cajun accent."

"You and Will are not allowed to play together anymore."

"Will's my boy. He understands that a man needs to protect his woman."

"So now I'm your woman?" She teased.

"You've always been mine. You've just never slowed down enough to notice."

Penelope's breath caught in her throat. It wasn't so much what he said (he always said sweet things to her) but it was how he said it. There was none of his usual joking tone, no playful grin to tease a smile from her. Instead all she was left with was a statement of fact. _You've always been mine._ For Penelope this wasn't exactly brand new information. She'd been his for so long she couldn't remember anything different but she would have bet money that he had no idea. But if she was his, and they both knew it, then didn't that automatically make him hers?

Shiny happy champagne-like bubbles filled with promise burst from behind Penelope's heart and travelled directly to her brain. _Breathe, Garcie, breathe,_ she reminded herself in her desperation to keep the dizziness at bay. Passing out was not an option.

Derek felt sort of lightheaded too. He hadn't planned to say what he did but a man could only lie to himself for so long. How many more years could he excuse away his confusing feelings for his best friend or pretend to be happy when she found love with someone else? Einstein said the definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. It was time for him to try something new.

Half leap of faith; half the need to steady herself, Penelope took one shaky step forward and then another until the top of her thighs came to rest against Derek's knees. On impact a shot of electricity coursed between them making each hyper aware of the other. It wasn't as if they had never touched before (according to JJ they regularly came close to being indecent) but something about today felt different.

Penelope pressed herself a little closer and locked her eyes with his. What she found there shocked her. He actually looked a little scared, hopeful too, but definitely scared. There was no turning back now. Their relationship had changed and she was never more ready for change than she was at that moment.

"Well, Hot Stuff, this is as slowed down as I'm ever going to get. So what else have I been missing?"

Derek shifted his weight on the desk until his thighs formed a deep "V".

"Come a little closer and I'll show you," he spoke his voice rich with emotion.

In for an inch, in for a pound as the saying goes, Penelope didn't resist when his strong hands grasped her waist and gently drew her forward until her hips filled the empty space.

Once securely trapped between his thighs, she suddenly felt unsure as to where to put her hands. Should she wrap them around his neck? Or maybe grab his hips? Or his ass or…?

Derek couldn't help but smile at the woman he loved. The way she shifted her hands from left to right and back again told him that she was just as nervous as he was. This was new territory for them both and it would be a while before they got comfortable in their new roles. Finally taking pity on her he reached up to catch her hands in his, her softness a stark and welcome contrast against his calloused skin.

He started to speak but became distracted when Penelope began to bite her lower lip. She often did that. Mostly when she was concentrating on a difficult work problem or sometimes like now when she felt flustered. But his favorite was when she did it to torment him. Her pink tongue would sneak out and slowly glide across her lips. Her brown eyes daring him to steal a taste. To Derek, all the times were sexy as hell.

"So isn't this where one of us is supposed to say something funny and pretend that we were only kidding?" Penelope's voice was barely above a whisper.

"Pretending hasn't worked for a long time now," he answered, "at least not for me. Maybe we should ask ourselves why pretending is better than the alternative?"

"Which is?"

"Bump our friendship into something a little more satisfying for the both of us."

"But what if it doesn't work out?"

"Then we know we tried."

"I don't want to lose you, Derek."

"And you won't. Like I said before I don't know how to stop loving you."

And he said the words with such certainty, with so much conviction that it was impossible for her not to believe him. Suddenly feeling bolder than she had ever felt before Penelope did something she had only dreamed of. She leaned in and claimed his lips with hers.

"I don't know how to stop loving you; either, Derek Morgan and I don't intend to ever learn."

_**The End**_

_Dear Readers,_

_I sincerely apologize for the wait. I kind of fell out of love with Criminal Minds for a while – okay a long while – but I recently spent some time watching reruns of the early seasons and I fell back in love with the show. My love for Derek and Penelope, however, never waned but it did get muddled in my less than glowing feelings for season 8. I mean seriously, are they ever going to get together? For cripes sake, she was feeling him up in his office; they get caught by JJ and nada. It's never mentioned again. I'm so frustrated I could turn over a table. Yeah, I know, I got issues. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the final chapter of Secrets and yes for those who care I'm working on the final or maybe next to final chapter of Mother Knows Best._

_Thanks,_

_CRF _


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